COVID-19 and lockdown strategies may affect mental health and addictive behavior differently in the population, and elite athletes are among the professions clearly affected by the pandemic. This study in top elite athletes aimed to study current perceived psychological influence from COVID-19 and symptoms of depression, anxiety and changes in alcohol drinking, gambling behavior and problem gambling in the midst of the COVID-19 lockdown. This web survey included athletes in top leagues of soccer, ice hockey and handball in Sweden (N = 327, 62% men). A total of 66% and 51% were worried about the future of their sport or about their own future in sports, respectively. Feeling worse psychologically during the pandemic was common (72% of women, 40% of men, p < 0.001); depression criteria were endorsed by 19% of women and three percent of men (p < 0.001); anxiety criteria by 20% of women and five percent of men (p < 0.001). Reporting increased gambling during the pandemic was associated with gambling problem severity. Moderate-risk or problem gambling was seen in 10% of men and none of the women (p < 0.001). Depression and anxiety were associated with feeling worse during the COVID-19 pandemic and with concern over one’s own sports future. In conclusion, COVID-19-related distress is common in elite athletes and associated with mental health symptoms. Gambling increase during the pandemic was rare, but related to gambling problems, which were common in male athletes. The calls for increased focus on COVID-19-related concerns in athletes and on problem gambling in male athletes.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has had a significant impact on the world of sports due to periods of home quarantine, bans against public gatherings, travel restrictions, and a large number of postponed or canceled major sporting events. The literature hitherto is sparse, but early indications display signs of psychological impact on elite athletes due to the pandemic. However, beyond acute effects from lockdown and short-term interrupted athletic seasons, the postponed and still uncertain Olympic and Paralympic Games may represent a major career insecurity to many athletes world-wide, and may lead to severe changes to everyday lives and potentially prolonged psychological distress. Given the long-term perspective of these changes, researchers and stakeholders should address mental health and long-term job insecurity in athletes, including a specific focus on those with small financial margins, such as many female athletes, parasports athletes, athletes in smaller sports, and athletes from developing countries. Implications and the need for research are discussed.

Match-fixing, although not a new problem, has received growing attention during the COVID-19 pandemic, which has been reported in the media to have increased the risk of match-fixing events. Gambling is a well-documented addictive behavior, and gambling-related fraud, match-fixing, is a challenge to the world of sports. Most research on match-fixing has a judicial or institutional perspective, and few studies focus on its individual consequences. Nevertheless, athletes may be at particular risk of mental health consequences from the exposure to or involvement in match-fixing. The COVID-19 crisis puts a spotlight on match-fixing, as the world of competitive sports shut down or changed substantially due to pandemic-related restrictions. We call for research addressing individual mental health and psycho-social correlates of match-fixing, and their integration into research addressing problem gambling, related to the pandemic and beyond.

Background and Aims:Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is clearly over represented among patients with drug addiction. Deficits in working memory (WM) are thought to be of central importance for ADHD. Previous studies indicate that WM can be improved by training.In this pilot study we have examined if training of WM in adult patients with ADHD and a history of severe drug abuse would be possible to apply in a clinical setting. In addition, we hypothesized that the training would improve WM in this group.Patients and Methods:Subjects: Nine patients with ADHD and a history of drug abuse were recruited. The age range was 21-52. One patient was addicted to alcohol, one to cannabis and seven patients to amphetamine. All patients had been drug-free more than two months prior to inclusion. Outcome measures: WM was assessed using four different tasks. The Self Rating Scale (CFQ) was used to score symptoms of cognitive failures in daily life. Training procedure: The treatment consisted of performing WM tasks implemented in a computer program (RoboMemo®).Results:Eight patients completed the treatment and remained drug-free during the training. There was a clear improvement in two WM test. Seven patients reported a subjective improvement as rated in CFQ.Conclusion:This pilot study shows that computerized training of working memory can be performed in a clinical setting of adults with ADHD and drug addiction. The improvement support that patients with drug-addiction may have the same plasticity in the brain that non-addictive patients show.

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